Farmer Meets Foodie continues to expand, rated Best Farm to Table Business

Press release

A Havre restaurant business has both changed its main mode of operation and received a top award in the state.

Sarah Manuel of Farmer Meets Foodie said she no longer operates her food truck and instead is doing catering and selling frozen meals across the state.

"With a chill of fall in the air, the previous patrons of the Streatery Food Truck in Havre may have been wondering what ever happened to the crew that has been serving them up a taste of Montana-inspired street foods since 2018," Manuel said in a press release. "The truth is, the Streatery crew has been busier than ever, in fact, they were recently awarded the title of 'Best Farm To Table Business' in all of Montana. But they're no longer slinging tacos out of a truck."

Since its origin, the Streatery has had the tagline "Farmer Meets Foodie," which has since become a brand of its own and grown to be the main focus of Manuel, the chef/owner of Havre's first food truck,the release said. Farmer Meets Foodie encompasses services such as catering, frozen meals and pop-up events.

Manuel said Farmer Meets Foodie was picked best Farm to Table Business in the statewide Cream of the Crop series.

Catering has been the main focus of the previous Streatery crew, as they provide made-from-scratch meals with locally obtained for events ranging from funerals to destination weddings, the release said.

"Our catering business has exploded over the past couple of years. I'm grateful for the support of our clients and to my team for successfully pivoting into this new side of the food industry," Manuel said.

"We don't just throw a few local ingredients on our menu because it makes us look good," she added. We take a look at what is available locally and we use that as the primary inspiration to write our menus. We want to support as many local and organic food producers as we can, and we want our clients to experience a true and fresh taste of Montana cuisine."

Manuel said that, in addition to sourcing locally, she also prioritizes organically grown ingredients.

She has personal experience in that. She watched her parents, Jody and Crystal Manuel, convert their south-of-Havre operation, Prairie Grass Ranch where she grew up, to an organic operation in 2007.

"It's 2024, and with so many diseases at an all time high, it's time to pull our heads out of the sand and recognize that eating organically is not pretentious, it just makes sense," she said. "The quality of the food we eat makes a really big difference in how we feel physically and affects our long-term health."

"With everything we do, we aim to challenge the way society has taught us to eat," Manuel added. "We believe in maintaining the integrity of local and organic agriculture. The way we maintain and challenge the industry is to promote authenticity and transparency by utilizing local, seasonal and rotational ingredients to prepare creative cuisine."

She said Farmer Meets Foodie also has another mission: the current food system is broken and deserves to be repaired. In America 40 percent of food is thrown away while an estimated 10 to 15 percent of American people are experiencing food insecurity each day. Simultaneously, food producers, on average, only receive $0.14 of every dollar spent on the food they've grown. Sourcing ingredients locally is a step in the right direction to minimize food waste and provide a higher profit margin to the local farmers.

And the business has expanded to do more than cooking and serving meals from a truck or at events.

Farmer Meets Foodie also offers a line of frozen meals, Manuel said, which are wholesome, made from local ingredients and designed with simplicity in mind. The full selection of frozen meals is available on the business' website at httpswww.farmermeetsfoodiemt.com , and the business also has partnered with Regen Market in Big Sky to ship the frozen meal products anywhere in Montana.

And, she added, the business continues to grow and she continues to hire.

"The positions available are an exciting job opportunity for anyone who enjoys a multifaceted work environment and farm-to-table style of food," Manuel said, adding that part-time positions are available with the potential for full-time employment.

More information and full job description is available at the company's website.